Surviving The December Music Care Package
There are at least four albums of some sort of significance coming out this month (one is out today actually), so let’s figure out how to listen to all of them.
Childish Gambino, DRAKE, J. Cole and Kid Cudi are all releasing some type of music this month and the internet has predictably freaked out, calmed down, then jumped out of a plane without a parachute and freaked out again. This is mostly due to the fact that the internet has no chill and its two only existing settings are somewhere between default apathy and the living embodiment of a combination of the fire and ‘100’ emojis.
The truth is, all four albums will undoubtedly bring something different to the table as the four artists are very different in their approach to music. So lets work our way through this list in chronological order of release and try to scientifically figure out what it is you should be listening to.
Childish Gambino — Awaken, My Love
When is it out: Now, actually.
Donald Glover has had an interesting career part as a musician and an artist. He started with lacing indie guitar tracks with rhymes and never stopped. His version of All of The Lights is still a hauntingly beautiful, pseudo-instrumental on Kanye’s flawed genius.
His last album under-performed as he went too far into Lil’ Wayne’s Rebirth territory with an effort that stunk a little bit too much like trying to outperform music itself, which is no bueno. Since then, Glover has taken the time to drop off the face of the Earth and then resurface as the most ‘woke’ show runner on TV with Atlanta. He has shown his ability to synthesize culture and understand the significance of seemingly small moments of existence on the grander scale. Now, hopefully he can do the same with music.
The biggest benefit to Awaken, My Love is that we can listen to it now, as in this very second. I’ve taken in some of it on my way to work, and while it’s not quite enough to make a definitive statement one way or another, I fux with it. It’s got the groovy undertones of that select group of records you play for someone when you’re interested in seeing them take their pants off, sometimes slowly. The sound is very melodic and almost neo-funk in it’s own way, which is to say its definitely not modern hip hop, whatever that is. No one can ever accuse Gambino of being afraid to experiment with his art, whatever form you choose to consume it, and what I can only imagine drug infused Joshua Tree three day musical romp is some sort of proof. How much you like this album will depend is how much you’re willing to accept that there are other genre’s of music out there.
Now for that Chance collab.
Who it is for: Your white friend who ‘doesn’t see color’ and loved Atlanta, but constantly jokes that you’re his “whitest black friend”. Woke people.
Who it is not for: People who think Drake is a genre of music.
Drake — More Life
When is it out: December 3rd
Drake has been the artist du jour turned artist de semaine turned artist de l’annee. In any case, if you listened to a Drake album, song or soundbite since Nothing Was the Same you can take a pretty safe guess at what the new offering will sound like — more of the same. After figuring out the pop-rap sound of the mid late 2000s with Take Care, Aubrey Graham let Noah “40” Shebib under the hood of an entire album giving us the most distilled Drake record to date. Since then, he has been doing his best creationist impersonation, which is to say he is acting like evolution, especially artistic one, is not a thing that exists.
For the past two years, Drake has been acting like one of the androids on Westworld, and not even one of the woke ones who try to gain sentience. It’s like he read an internet article on what it takes to be cool and respected (probably on Hypebeast or Complex) and decided to follow the formula to a tee. It’s like a machine trying to tell you that it loves you, which becomes even more ironic when you consider the “why are they even here” voicemails that he chooses to pepper his albums with. I think he’s running a loop actually.
The ideal Drake fan is the one who isn’t comfortable stepping outside of their comfort zone to discover new music. He wants his musical tastes catered to them in the most generic way by the most generic artist currently imaginable. So we’ll probably get a few emotionally charged “I’m so rich, why won’t you understand me” ballads about lost love punctuated by the “I’m rich so I don’t care” pop offs with the gravitas and depth of a kiddie pool. Hey, at least 21 Savage is on it. Hopefully no appropriated island jams though.
I could be wrong, this could be the album Drake regains his sentience on.
Who it is for: people who call Toronto “the 6ix.” Anyone who hasn’t listened to a non hip-hop song in five years. If you’ve used “wah gwan” in the last 4 months.
Who it is not for: Pusha T fans. Those who thought Views wasn’t all that great.
J.Cole — 4 Your Eyez Only
When is it out: December 9th
I wonder if there are any features on this one.
J.Cole has been the most niche popular hip-hop artist for quite some time now. His music tends to shy away from the spotlight the way the rapper himself does. He doesn’t necessarily chase the continuous algorithm loop that we’ve set ourselves on. He has a very dedicated fan base and while it pales in comparison to armies of stans amassed by your Drakes and your Kendricks, it more than makes up for it in their dedication to the craft. You might not know a single track off Forest Hill Drive but you know that it had no features on it.
As a musician, J. Cole is unassuming and polite. Even when he’s trying to “throw hands” he sounds almost melodically apologetic with soft delivery. Are we sure he’s not the one who is actually Canadian?
No J. Cole album is ever going to set the world on fire, but it just might end up being a perfect remedy for a rainy day. It’s the type of melancholy dillutant that is ideal for times where you may not want to go all the way up and are more comfortable in the lower middle. His cadence never breaks rank as he raps with the same monotone speech across all tracks. J. Cole is a known common denominator where you get exactly what you expect day in and day out. It’s like re-reading a familiar book by your favourite author, if you’re into this type of thing.
Who is it for: People who are still making “J. Cole went platinum with no features” joke.
Who is it not for: Fans of emotional range. Shea Serrano
Kid Cudi — Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’
When is it out: December 19th (digital download), December 23rd (physical copy)
First thing first, Man on the Moon II: The End of Day is one of the more criminally underrated hip-hop albums of our time. It was the perfect encapsulation of what makes Cudi so great, and that is being able to capture a particular type of melancholy and then subject to some sort of alchemical transformation into a melodic soundtrack to all moods of your life. That is a very long and weird way of saying that it was very very good.
Mental illness on the other hand is not good. I don’t think there are two ways about it and if you even started thinking some type of way of different because you’re a Drake fan because Drake once said that one thing he probably now forgot about because he has to check around corners for Pusha T with a hand fashioned mirror, then you’re not a very good person. Mental illness can push creative people into two different directions. Sometimes it can drive you into the bottom of your own soul, feeling like you didn’t just hit rock bottom but somehow drilled down to Earth’s core and buried yourself underneath. It can also be a creative outlet for pain, suffering and emotional uncertainty, with good results.
All of Cudi’s albums to date have been equal measure troublingly dark and inspirationally uplifting. He has never been afraid to push into his darkest corners, but also come out on the other end seemingly having fun.
Over the past few years he has been the inspiration behind more artists that will care to admit it and has served to push music across a variety of boundaries, diving into electronic and metal genres with equal ease (although questionable results). He’s like a jigsaw puzzle where you get to make up your own pieces and it all still seems to fit together quite nicely. He has been equally in his own tune as he has been with the current musical sensibilities, as his latest collaborations with his trap doppelganger prove.
Who it is for: People who like helping you “discover” new music. People who miss the old Kanye (probably). Your cousin who went on a spiritual quest three years ago and won’t stop talking about it. Those who wish there was a third season of How To Make it in America.
Who it is not for: Drake fans. Kanye fans. People who stay in their own lane.
